Bon Voyage for easyCruise's Newest Ship

Greek labour strikes had delayed the delivery of budget line easyCruise's easyCruise Life -- resulting in the cancellation of about a month's worth of cruises. Now, the ship has successfully departed on its inaugural cruise.

The newest addition to the low-cost, no-frills line left Athens' port of Piraeus this past Saturday 17 May, nearly a month after its originally scheduled 19 April launch date. Passengers who were booked on the cancelled
cruises received refunds and were offered a free future cruise.

For its maiden sailing, the ferry-turned-cruise-ship is visiting five Greek islands (Syros, Kalymnos, Kos, Paros and Mykonos) and Turkey's Bodrum. The Eastern Mediterranean itinerary will repeat through 11 October 2008.

The 12,700-ton, 600-passenger easyCruise Life is more than twice as large as its soon-to-be-former sibling, the 4,077-ton, 232-passenger easyCruiseOne (which
is up for sale and expected to leave the fleet by this October). Onboard, passengers will find a bar, restaurant, spa, sauna, pool, "chill out" zone and outdoor
wellness zone. Accommodations range from standard cabins to larger panoramic suites and quad cabins.